First they clashed over cement. Now, the corporate rivalry between the Aditya Birla Group and Adani Group is shifting to aluminium. Hindalco Industries, the flagship metals company of the Aditya Birla Group, plans to deploy around ₹50,000 crore in capacity expansion, upstream integration and downstream value-added products, in a bid to strengthen its market position ahead of Adani Group’s entry into the aluminium business.Beyond producing more aluminium, Hindalco’s bigger bet is on controlling a bigger chunk of the value chain and moving towards specialised products, since their earnings are less exposed to London Metal Exchange (LME) prices.This move is significant because Adani Enterprises has joined hands with Abu Dhabi-based natural resources investment platform International Resources Holding (IRH) to build a ₹1.08-lakh-crore integrated greenfield aluminium complex in Odisha.The emerging contest isn’t unlike the two groups’ rivalry in cement with UltraTech Cement, the Birla Group flagship, having to defend its leadership through organic expansion and acquisitions, including India Cements and Kesoram Industries. Its capacity has crossed 200 million tonnes per annum and is targeted to reach around 240 mtpa by FY28.The Adani Group entered the cement segment in 2022 with the acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC from Holcim, and then Sanghi Industries, Penna Cement and Orient Cement. Its cement capacity is now around 109 mtpa, with a target of 140 mtpa by FY28.In the case of aluminium, scale, resource security, energy costs and vertical integration could determine competitive advantage.Big investmentsThe Adani-IRH project envisages a 4-mtpa alumina refinery near bauxite mines in Rayagada district, a 2-mtpa aluminium smelter, a 4,000-MW captive power plant and a 1-mtpa downstream manufacturing park in Sundargarh district.